On the fringes of society: Lawrence band Ponyboy scores adult film soundtrack

It’s not uncommon to find Charles McVey and David Zey producing some of the Lawrence scene’s loudest (and most gut-wrenching) garage rock at local bars and venues about town. You may have spotted the noisy musicians that make up Ponyboy recently opening for Harvey Milk at the Jackpot; and you can expect to see them at the upcoming 11.11.11 show. But now there’s another place where you can hear some of their music: the adult film industry.

A New Adventure

The duo met while combing through the queer musician ads on Craigslist, and since then have made a name for themselves thanks to their roaring and restless garage rock. They recently embarked on a new adventure when they were approached about writing the music for “Sexing the Trans Man,” an adult film directed by trans porn star and activist Buck Angel. “When we did demos for Ponyboy songs, I sent him some just to listen to, and he responded that he was interested in using some of the music in his film,” says frontman McVey. “So instead I offered to score some of the music for him. Since most of our songs are around three minutes, they’re not very applicable to longer sex scenes.”

McVey says he was excited about the project, and had played around with the idea of scoring an adult film before. “I always thought it would be fun,” says McVey. “I don’t’ think there are many adult films that are scored by bands, quite honestly. I thought it was good exercise as a songwriter.”

McVey says it’s hard to ignore a filmmaker like Angel. “Buck Angel is the first female to male trans porn star, but he’s also a transsexual activist” says McVey. “Apart from doing adult films, he’s branched out and spoken.”

Angel is a familiar face when it comes to advocacy in the transsexual community. The filmmaker has appeared on several television shows, including Tyra Banks and Maury Povich, and has spoken at Yale University. “His interest in masculinity and masculine issues is really upfront, and I think our music is really exploring questions of what does it mean to be a man,” says McVey. “Buck is a trans, we’re gay, we’re people who stand on the fringes of society.”

More Universal

But McVey says to not peg Ponyboy as a gay band. “I don’t feel like a lot of times the stuff I’ve done in the past has been so well received by gay audiences as a whole,” says McVey. “Nothing that we write about is specifically gay. Most of the songs are about problems with your family of origin or feeling like an outcast. It’s more universal groups than sexuality.” His bandmate agrees. “The thing about sexuality in general is it’s pretty prevalent throughout rock and roll,” says Zey. “Nobody labeled Zeppelin a straight band.”